Pyjamas, beginner skills

Pyjama pants are often suggested as a beginner sewing project.
And continuing with the theme of comfortable and classy loungewear – what about high quality designer versions?

Of course there are couture pj pants available from luxury lingerie companies – enjoy being stroked by silk charmeuse and lace.
A skilled hobby sewer could make those. But definitely not fabrics for easy sewing.
How about simpler than that !

Here are some comments on pyjama patterns and sew-alongs for beginners.
And on using the same skills to make simple elastic waist pants.
(I haven’t included patterns for knits, or with very slim legs.)
And on the further skills needed to add a simple top.

No wonder some people find it daunting to learn to sew, and need to work up to all that slowly. In 4-H sewing classes, pj pants are what children make only after a year of sewing small projects which gradually introduce all these skills. I think it’s a bit pressurised to expect all adults to be comfortable with jumping into such a project as their first item.

But anyway that’s a separate topic I dealt with in my post on learning help for complete beginners.
Which includes some places you can look to for help with learning all those skills.

And once you can do all these things, a huge range of other sewing projects open up and become possible 😀

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PJ pant sew-alongs

These are sew-alongs with specific instructions which give more information than in the pattern.
(There are also several ‘chat and encouragement’ style pj sew-alongs, but I haven’t included them.)

These sew-alongs use specific patterns, but the pj pant style is so general any similar pattern would do.
(Making the tops requires another range of sewing skills, comments later.)

Once you’ve made a pair of pj pants, what more can you do that makes good use of the same skills ?
Celebrate what you can do before moving on 😀

Of course, make some elastic waist pants – just needs a slight change of fabric, and perhaps less looseness (ease) to the pattern.

I have the sort of body shape (indented waist and prominent high hips) which doesn’t look good in elastic waist pants. But there’s often no need to reveal the waist area, especially in winter. Simply keep your waist covered with your top or layer, and no one will know your pants add lumpy bulk around the waist 😀

(Jackets not for beginners.)
Her other pant patterns have more style elements. I agree with her that if you’re wearing one of those over-sized jackets, adding eye-attracting detail to the pants would both look a bit over the top and drag the eye down to look fattening.

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Add a simple top

Move on to consider yourself an ‘advanced beginner’ 😀

This pattern has more of a beginner top : Sewing Workshop Hudson pant.
For the simplest pant sewing, leave out the ankle shaping darts.

Learn at the speed which is right for you to develop confidence at every step.
You’re getting to ‘intermediate’ level when you can sew many types of seam, seam finish, collar, sleeve, pocket, buttonhole, zip, placket, lining, embellishment. . .
It’s amazing what we can learn to do 😀

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Do you enjoy making and wearing elastic waist pants ?
Pyjama sewing – doesn’t matter if you make mistakes 😀

6 Comments on “Pyjamas, beginner skills”

I use an old Burda magazine pattern for pajama pants with a flat front similar to the Valencia pant you show here and I think that is much more flattering than having the elastic go all around.
I agree that pajama pants are a good beginner project. If they aren’t perfect you can still wear them since you don’t have to let the world see them !

Many people want elastic waist pants because of their fit and comfort. You can make your own elastic waist pants to fit your exact size and using a fabric of your choice. Experiment with fabrics of different colors or patterns and add some ruffles to your hem for a fun twist. One of the best parts of sewing your own elastic waist pants is that you can gain a little weight and not have to sacrifice comfort.